Many people love wearing wristwatches with any outfit they wear, but not many people understand how to wear a wristwatch.
While personal preferences and wrist sizes play a huge influence on the tightness of a wristwatch, a wristwatch should be comfortable on your wrist. The wristwatch should be tight enough that it fits your wrists snugly without wriggling around, but not too tight that it causes discomfort to the wrist.
In This Article…
Should watches be worn loose or tight?
A wristwatch’s main purpose is to tell time. These days, wristwatches come with more functionalities (like the GMT bezel, chronograph, tachymeter on pilot watches, etc – and I have not even gone into smartwatches yet).
Beyond that, most of us now also wear a wristwatch simply to complement our outfits.
In any case, you shouldn’t wear a wristwatch that’s putting you in any form of discomfort.
For example, if your wristwatch is loose, you’ll need to keep turning it sloppily to check the time. Likewise, if your wristwatch is too tight, it will affect the circulation of blood in your wrist and also cause you some pain.
Hence, finding the right balance between loose and tight is necessary when you’re thinking of wearing a wristwatch.
The watchband is a good consideration when considering watch fit. Each one of these straps – from stainless steel to leather and nylon, among others – has its specific features and designs. Explore some of the many factors affecting the tightness or looseness of a wristwatch below:
Factors That Could Affect How A Watch Fits
All other things being equal, some of these factors could influence how well your watch will fit (or not) around your wrist. Make sure to put them into consideration when buying/ getting a watch for yourself – or anyone else.
Strap Materials
Watches mostly come with leather, rubber, and metal bracelets. Nylon and NATO-style straps are also making the waves these days.
Leather watches are made such that they are worn tightly on the wrists. This is helped by the presence of holes in the leather which allows the wearer to choose which area best fits their wrist size
For stainless steel bracelets, some wiggle room is allowed. While the watch should still fit snugly around your wrist, it can have leeway to move around a bit. When it comes to rubber bands, though, the same rule applies as with leather bands.
User’s Wrist
The size of my wrist may be small when compared to yours, even when it’s the biggest wrist in my family.
If you have a big wrist, then many watches will come off as tight on your wrist. If your wrist is small, you may have issues trying to find the perfect watch.
However, with a big or small wrist, there’s a perfect wristwatch for you. Thus, find the right watch that fits your wrist and go for it.
Time
With time, a leather or rubber strap wristwatch may not exactly stay the way you bought them. In many cases, they may extend beyond your wrist size because of the elastic features they possess.
Also, over time, your general body size might fluctuate, affecting your wrist sizes. This may also contribute to the tightness and looseness of a wristwatch.
Where Should Your Watch Sit?
I don’t know about you, but I believe the positioning of your watch depends heavily on your personal choices. You may have seen people who wear their wristwatch on their wrist bone, while some even go as far as wearing wristwatches on their legs.
In the early stages of watch production, we had people wear their wristwatches way above their wrists.
Based on my personal preference, I love to wear my watch below my wrist bone – and on my left hand. That way, I am sure my watch puts me in no danger of pain on the wrist bones. Likewise, I wear the watch on my left hand because my right hand is dominant. Thus, I know I can use my hands better with a watch on the less dominant hand when I have it set up that way.
Left-handed people might prefer it the other way around. My advice is to do what works best for you here – as long as you don’t wear the watch on your leg.
How Do You Know If Your Watch Fits?
Honestly, this question is the simplest I have had to answer.
No one needs to tell you when a wristwatch fits. The comfort you feel when you test the wristwatch on is enough proof to show if the wristwatch fits or not. So, the best way to know if your watch fits is to test it before you buy it, or after you get it.
If you are shopping for watches with bracelet straps online, there is a high chance that you don’t get the right fit out-of-the-box. Get a removal tool to adjust the straps – or take it to a local watch shop to get that done for you. In a few minutes, you should have a perfect watch for your wrist.
Another way to know if a wristwatch fits is through a fit test. It goes this way:
- wear the wristwatch on one hand;
- try to fix the index finger of your second hand in between the watch and your wrist.
If your finger enters firmly or doesn’t enter fully, you have the right size, but if the finger can move, it’s too big.
How Tight Should an Apple Watch Be?
The Apple smartwatch offers you more features, designs, and functions than a regular watch could manage. You might not appreciate or even enjoy these features if you don’t wear the watch correctly.
For these sensors to work perfectly, they need to be in close contact with your skin.
Hence, for no reason should you own an apple watch that you wear loosely. As much as possible, your Apple Watch should be tight – but not too tight that it causes you discomfort anyway.
Final Words
Wearing your watch right is as important as wearing a watch in the first place. Make sure you understand the kind of watch you are wearing, the band it comes with, and how big/ small your wrists are. You should also be prepared to make adjustments so that your watch sits firmly yet gently on your wrist.
That way, you give off a more complete, well-put-together look rather than the disorganized appeal that would have come from wearing a loose-fitting watch.
